Where It All Began
by littlewhitehorse
Summary: The story behind the school. The mysteries that lay forgotten.... All about the our favorite school founders who did all they could to protect the magic. Also in this fic why Hogwarts was named Hogwarts. R and R pls. No flames


Where it all began...  
  
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1801  
  
Chapter 1  
  
The Forbidden  
  
In a dimly lit room, somewhere in the center of a massive fortress, two men who had similar features were sitting across each other. One waiting anxiously for the younger's reply, the other, chuckling to himself over the absurdity of the matter.  
  
"Dowry? Father." The man of 20 years asked his father who was sitting stiffly in front of him.  
  
"Yes son." He answered, looking proud.  
  
"Handsome dowry I take it?" Godric asked again a grim smile upon his face.  
  
"Very handsome." The Duke affirmed with a nod. "A Viscount's daughter."  
  
"When was this confirmed?"  
  
"Two weeks ago." The Duke answered without thinking.  
  
Godric sneered. "Why was I informed of this just this afternoon?"  
  
Swiftly, he stood up and walked towards a window. His father hasn't answered him yet, which was good, if another word escaped his father's mouth, Godric was sure that he would end up hitting his father. Hard. And that wasn't good for a Duke to do. He sighed. Having a wife right now would destroy everything he ever worked for.  
  
He smirked as he thought about the Viscount and the Countess. He knew they would give anything to be in the good graces of his Highness, the King. Knowing them, he figured their daughter would be exactly like them. She would love what the King and Queen preferred and hate what the King and Queen despised.  
  
His life was ruined.  
  
"Damn." He muttered under his breath.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Rowena sat there, speechless over the announcement.  
  
"Oh! Dear, get the smelling salts, quickly. Rowena's going into a swoon."  
  
Rowena forced herself to think clearly. "No mother, I'm fine."  
  
"Are you sure?" The Countess asked her daughter, concerned filled her eyes.  
  
She nodded.  
  
The Viscount sat quietly from his seat. "Let's continue than shall we. As I said Rowena, you're getting married."  
  
"To a Duke, daughter, a Duke." Her mother said excitedly. "The most sought after among the ton."  
  
Rowena searched the room, looking for a way to escape, knowing very well that she couldn't. Not knowing what else to do, she absently fingered with the brooch that was neatly pinned to her waist.  
  
"Rowena dear?" Her father asked.  
  
She gulped. "Father, before you say anything—"  
  
"You're looking pale, darling. Are you sure you don't want the smelling salts?" Her mother said from beside her.  
  
She shook her head, causing her hood to fall off her head, making a shower of brown hair cascade down to her waist.  
  
"Mother, I'm barely seventeen." Rowena said, in what she knew was a whiny voice.  
  
"Seventeen is a perfectly respectable age for marriage, Rowena." Her father said in a strained voice.  
  
"I got married to your father when I was sixteen, dear." Her mother added looking smug.  
  
Rowena racked her brain, trying to find a way out of the marriage. She was smart, everyone told her she was, but why couldn't she think of anything.  
  
"May I be excused?" She requested in a soft voice.  
  
Seeing her parents nod, Rowena slowly stood up and made her way to her chambers. All the while thinking about her situation. A husband wouldn't do, he'd rob her of everything she loved, everything she lived for.  
  
With a thought, she gathered up her dark blue skirts and walked as quickly as she could to her chambers, where she was sure her maid and confidant was waiting for her.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A twenty-four year old man hastened as he trudged up the steep stairs towards the tower carrying a pail filled with nectar from a particular flower.  
  
He was excited over today's lesson. The Master hinted it would be important.  
  
Before he could even knock on the door, he heard a silky voice call out to him to enter.  
  
"Sir, I have what you need." Salazaar reported as he gingerly stepped inside the threshold. "Is there anything else you require?"  
  
"No." An aging man stepped into the light, which allowed Salazaar to get a better view on his face. "Come in, though. I believe you will enjoy the lesson I have in store for you."  
  
The raven-haired man grinned. He bent his head low so as to not hit his head on the low ceiling.  
  
"It has come to my attention that there is to be a meeting with the King this afternoon." The wizard stated.  
  
Salazaar nodded. He knew better than to speak when he wasn't acknowledged to do so.  
  
"Speak, boy!" The Master commanded. "Tell me what you know."  
  
Salazaar nodded. "There is to be a ball on the night of the full moon. The servants are in a frenzy. The animals skittish, over what I do not know." He didn't know why he added the information, it was ludicrous, but he knew better than to keep ludicrous secrets from the master.  
  
"Tomorrow." Was all he said in reply to the information that his student provided him.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Animals, you say."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Salazaar's teacher was silent as he processed the information in his mind.  
  
"Today's lesson will be about..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Helga!" Rowena called out as she slammed the door to her bedchambers.  
  
"Madame Rowena!" Rowena's maid exclaimed. "What did My Lord and Lady want?" Helga asked concerned.  
  
"It is as we feared Helga." Rowena said softly as she ran to the safety of her friend's arms.  
  
"When is the marriage?" Helga asked grimly. Her heart felt heavy for her employer. Helga may be a simple chambermaid and a year younger than her employer, but they were close, and immediately, Helga knew that marriage was the last thing Rowena wanted in her life.  
  
"You never know, my Lady." Helga soothed. "Your fiancé may be understanding."  
  
Rowena pulled away from Helga. All the while, shaking her head.  
  
"My friend, the Duke is a most powerful man and is one of the closest to the King." Rowena gulped. "And we all know how much the King hates magic." Rowena said the last word in a hushed voice.  
  
Helga nodded.  
  
Rowena started to get frantic. "What should we do?"  
  
"Calm down now, miss." Helga pulled a hood from out of her pocket and set to work into fixing the long, luscious brown hair of her friend.  
  
"The color is fading." Rowena stated in a dismal voice, referring to her hair, as she took a glance of herself in the looking glass.  
  
"Yes. We must fix it at once." Helga mumbled.  
  
One thing you will notice between these two friends is their striking hair color. Although Rowena's was a rich brown color as opposed to Helga's lush dark blonde hair, if the light hits their hair in a specific way, both hair colors change. The brown turns to a rich auburn, the blonde into a vibrant red.  
  
Both girls noticed that while they were learning, their hair changed. They feared that they would be caught.  
  
All knew that when women's hair changed to a specific color it meant that they were doing the forbidden. And all knew the outcome of this.  
  
"We can't Helga." Rowena moaned.  
  
"Pray tell why not?"  
  
"We finished the last of the potion last week."  
  
"Dear God!" Helga whispered.  
  
Rowena nodded bravely. "It's time to visit the Master."  
  
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Well???! I hope you like this story. In case you haven't figured it out, this is about the famous four founders! Godric Gryffindor, Salazaar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and, Helga Hufflepuff. So far, I only stumbled upon one story about the founders. I think I'll have a lot of fun writing this fiction, because very little is said about them and I was always curious about them.  
  
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~~~ Littlewhitehorse 


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